Opinion

March 22, 2011

One fall day in Guthrie, Okla., Glenda Porter was preparing to call her younger sister to wish her a happy birthday. But before she could dial the number, her phone rang. It was Angie, the wife of her son, Sgt. Rusty Dunagan, who was deployed to an undisclosed location in southwest Asia.
"She asked me if I was sitting down, and I just started crying," Glenda, 55, tells The Unknown Soldiers. "I said, 'Just tell me he's alive."
This is the call that she, and every military mom with a son or daughter overseas, dreads beyond imagination.

March 22, 2011

While the most visible effects of spring are plants that are blooming, especially the colorful ones, plants arenât the only the things that increase their activity levels as the weather moderates and the days get longer.
Since all animals in some way or another depend on the life cycles and activities of plants for food, when plants become more active, so do the animals that depend on them for food and/or shelter.

March 19, 2011

Iâve always loved dogs, but have taken them for granted. No matter how annoying they can be, I believe God game them to us as companions and protectors. You donât know how much you depend on and love your animal until you lose it. We had a beautiful Australian shepherd â Sandy - the first dog we raised as a family until August of 2010. In fact, we lost her on the kidsâ first day of school. She was run over just a couple of hours after we took our kids to school.

March 19, 2011

There is no sense trying to anticipate what gas prices will be tomorrow â they seem to be rising so rapidly that no one can keep up with them. Some economists are speculating that, by the end of the year, most households will have spent 25% more than they did last year, simply due to the cost of gasoline for their cars. Unfortunately, their income will not have risen by that amount, so American debt is poised to rise again.

March 19, 2011

March 18, 2011

If you were to gauge St. Patrickâs Day by what you mostly see, then it is a holiday when you wear green and drink a lot of beer. Unfortunately this is not what this holiday truly means to many of us. I do appreciate people of all cultures joining the Irish on this day, but to those of us who truly have roots from the Emerald Isle, the holiday means much more.

March 15, 2011

Moments after making the most difficult decision of her life, Crissie Carpenter thought she heard her husband's voice, softly whispering in her ear.
"It is what it is," he said.
A simple saying, it was also Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter's favorite. And it gave comfort to his wife, eight months pregnant, as she made the crushing choice to remove him from life support from roughly 4,500 miles away, unable to fly to Germany with her due date so near.

March 15, 2011

Something that I do a fair amount of is deal with what I call âsick treesâ. Since Iâm somebody that spends a lot of time learning about tree biology, mechanics, and needs, I find these calls to be some of my more interesting work.
Usually when someone wants me to look at a tree from a health perspective, it is because they have either noticed something unusual on or near the plant, or the tree just generally looks bad.

March 15, 2011

To the Editor,
I just spent my Friday afternoon at the Round-up activities and something that happened to me for the first time ever has outraged me. That being I had to pay to park. I am a tax paying citizen of Sweetwater/Nolan County. Why do we as locals have to pay to park on our city and county properties to enjoy the Round-up activities? There is something wrong with that picture in my book. I was planning on returning on Saturday as well, but you can bet that I won't be since I will have to pay to park, unless I choose to park as far away as the high school area.

March 12, 2011

âA nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten,â actor Gary Sinise, quoting President Calvin Coolidge, recently wrote to U.S. troops in a poignant letter. âI hope these âLetters from Hollywoodâ will help to let you know that your nation has not forgotten.â
Sinise, of course, is instantly recognizable around the world for his unforgettable portrayal of Lt. Dan in âForrest Gump.â He is also one of Americaâs most determined supporters of our armed forces, as his fine work with the USO demonstrates.